


The Avenged

by Detective_Odin_Ashcroft_52



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Ahead, Anymore and well..., Avengers : Endgame, But also some much needed catharsis, Especially if you haven't seen, Gen, Hope you enjoy~, Spoilers, That's All You're Getting For Character Tags, This is sort of a fix fic, Time Travel, Time Travel's a bitch, also, but hey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-19
Updated: 2019-05-19
Packaged: 2020-03-08 04:09:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18886897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Detective_Odin_Ashcroft_52/pseuds/Detective_Odin_Ashcroft_52
Summary: For Steve Rogers, it was his chance to finally have that last dance...For Captain America, it was his chance to finally live his own life without the shield...For Someone Else, it was their chance to make things RIGHT...





	The Avenged

_…And so, a long journey through time and space has finally reached its end, with history now set back on its normal course with each Stone returned, the old soldier could finally have his last dance with…_

_… **Peggy** …_

The name alone brought a wry smile on Steve Rogers’ lips as he’d look at the cascade of colors around him, arriving sometime in the autumn of 1946 as he saw shades of green, red, orange, yellow, and all in between as the leaves of the forest were preparing for the coming winter.

He’d chosen this spot as it was out of prying and unwelcome eyes at the oddly garbed man’s sudden appearance out of thin air, as well as being only a jog’s distance from the one place in the entire world he wanted to be. All that was needed was to switch out of the Quantum Realm Transport Suit, and…

It was only by the grace of his super soldier serum blessed reflexes and combat experience that Steve spun around in mid-thought at the sound of gears warming up as he’d lean his head to the left, to which the intense heat of the energy beam which streaked by left only a brief but burning sensation on his cheek, his vision blinded momentarily, which was a much more preferable option as any slower and he would’ve likely be a whole head shorter.

Rapidly blinking his eyes as he’d stumble back, instinctively reaching behind for his shield…and cursed as he had many times before since he’d left 2023, at how leaving behind his shield had not been the brightest of moves.  A very painful reminder as another energy bolt hums by, this time making more direct contact as it glances past hard on his left shoulder, making him hiss as the intense beam slices through the dual layers of the nano-fibers of the QRT Suit, and through the padded armor of his Captain America suit, a far more deep and lingering burning sensation as his left arm spasmed a moment, numbed by the pain but still usable…for _now_.

Steve would be cursing himself out for ever leaving his guard so lowered but right now, he needed his head in the game as he’d raised his fists, clenched tightly as he’d try to get a steady bead on this unexpected opponent.

Hovering in the air before him, as if a god coming from on high, was a being resplendent in deep violet and shimmering emerald armor, their arms folded back behind them. Some sense of regality as the imperious stance and judging posture brought to mind of some sovereign dismissive of an errant peasant caught in their lands…something which irked Steve greatly, as any American would be of any would be ‘king’.

And yet despite the royal sense of imagery, there was no doubt in Steve’s mind that what this being wore was a suit of very advanced armor, the way the emerald green-mesh which made up most of the fabric-like portions of its costume clung to this beings body was not unlike Steve’s Q.R.T suit, thickened with the metallic violet armored pieces, implemented around the legs, arms, belt, and especially ornate ‘crown’ like helmet, covering the figure’s upper body from the chest, shoulders and head.

It sparked some memory of Steve’s, when he explored many museums to catch up to all the time lost being frozen, that part of this attacker’s look was akin to one of those ‘neme crowns’ that pharaohs wore during their reign of Egypt. The only oddity to that was the unusually expressive blue ‘mask’ like face plate.

Expressive in a way how it mimicked a human’s face _almost_ perfectly…a lot like how Ultron used to look, in mocking inhumanity. Hardly helped in that comparison by the sheer intense **LOATHING** that glared down at him.

“Who’re you?” spat Steve, ready for a fight he knew was coming as the figure remained hovering, not moving an inch while the super soldier weighed the options in his head. He had no shield, he no longer had Mjolnir, none of the stones, and though he could use the suit to snap back to 2023, he would rather not lead another possible ‘Thanos’ like enemy upon the door step of the still recovering Avengers. His options were far from the best.

“I have been called and considered many things…to some; I am a living god among men. To others, I am but a mighty conqueror…to many, I am a centurion, dedicated to protecting what belongs to me…but to people like you, I am the immortal master of time, correcting a grave mistake…”

The air would suddenly be knocked out of Steve’s lungs as with but a flicker, his opponent would suddenly be right in front him in less than a blink, its gauntleted fist slamming **HARD** into Steve’s middle, a thunderous jolt of pain reverberating as what had to be a rib shattering into shards would further disorient the Super Soldier, but this wasn’t the first fight with a faster and stronger opponent he’d been in, and for Steve’s credit, he did succeed in throwing a punch…

It was unfortunate it was caught in his opponent’s hand.

“But for the purposes of this discussion, you may refer to me as **_Kang_**.”

What Steve expected was his hand to be crushed as this ‘ _Kang’_ was clearly showing off its superior physicality and would likely crush Steve’s hand, which he’d ground his teeth and bare that pain before using Kang’s gripping arm to yank himself up into a grapple…but again, his expectations were for not as Kang’s hand would yank away, with Steve’s hand intact… _except_ …

“Ah yes, the Pym Particle based Quantum Realm Exploration Unit…” observed Kang as he’d hold up the device to the sun, the glimmer of red fluid hitting just right…before it slipped into Kang’s palm and to Steve’s horror, crunched as it dripped and crackled down onto the leaf-laden ground below, thick crimson liquid running like blood…

Steve gaped, staring down at the destroyed device while his adversary sniffed with a sneer as they’d brush away the detestable remnants of Steve’s only way back to 2023.

“..A woefully outdated and pathetic means of time travel…limiting and most bothersome to navigate properly…”

“Y…you’re a time traveler?”

“And you’re quite the disappointment, given how your vaunted legend is touted in the history books…the great Captain America, the first _Avenger_ …”

The sheer disgust to which the word ‘ _Avenger’_ was attributed with couldn’t be overlooked as Steve readied himself for a brawl but Kang just shook his head.

“Always looking for a fight, which was certainly one thing they got right. Always could do that all day, you were so… ** _proud_** of that fact…always looking for the next **_war_** …”

“Only if it meant stopping wannabe conquerors like you…”

“Oh, there’s no ‘ _want_ to be’, _CAPTAIN_ …when I come from, I rule an empire which spans not only the universe, but ages to come and ages that had been…it’d taken me centuries to accrue enough power, enough knowledge, enough of all I’d ever need to prepare for my **true** goal…to fix the greatest wrong that has ever been committed…the one thing done by you and your… _Avengers_ …”

Steve’s scowl darkened as he’d grunt back

“So, let me guess…Thanos Fanboy? Certainly like wearing a lot of purple…”

“ **Please** , spare me the asthmatic attempts at humor, Captain, we all know you never the one who made the quips. Much like everything in your entire life, you left that to your so-called friends. Friends who you abandoned, time after time after time…”

“ _THAT’S A LIE_!” roared Steve, choosing that moment to strike, hoping to catch Kang off guard during his ‘monologuing’ but that inhuman blue face just smirked and with impossibly fluid-like movements, dodged at Steve’s every thrown punch, continuing on as once more, its hands were behind its back.

“Oh? Funny, as history seems to indicate otherwise. For a man of the people, you’re rarely ever there for the ones that matter the most to you. In fact, one can even say the one thing you do better than fight, is _running away_ …”

Despite no further efforts to counter his punches, the words thrown back in Steve’s face sunk deep as he tried to keep focus, knowing this was just a distraction tactic, to lower his guard and throw off his rhythm, and to Steve’s credit, he weathered the storm as best he could.

“Let’s start from the end, to the beginning, shall we...? Where were you when the Avengers fought Thanos on Titan? Running away, while sacrificing hundreds of lives in a war that should _NOT_ have been theirs to fight…”

Steve’s teeth were bared in a grimace of determination as another punch failed to land, carrying on much like Kang, trying not to think about the Avengers failed last stand in Wakanda.

“What did you do when you were asked to stand together with your friends and unite with the world to face any and all threats, together? You ran away again, while shattering that alliance of friend, fighting amongst one another, wasting so much time and ruining so many lives…”

Steve’s breathing was getting harder and harder, pulse racing as the accusations weighed upon him, their truths damning and scathing.

“What did you do when you learned harsh and inescapable truths to which threatened the lives of close friends and their loved ones? Did you tell them? Did you spare them the pain of learning on their own? Did you spare them the betrayal of knowing such unshared secrets? **No** …you _didn’t_. You left many to suffer alone, plagued by personal demons, while absolving yourself of any apparent sins while running further away from the truth…”

Steve kept at it but his punches grew sloppier, slower and losing steam as his broad shoulders began to sag, as Steve began to feel his age, his true age as Kang wore him down as the time traveler looked down in great contempt.

“But there’s nowhere else, no _WHEN_ else for you to run from the truth, old man…you thought as a man out of time once more, you could avoid your responsibilities. Leaving behind a world which needed you, to guide them, to help them rebuild. To be the damned sentinel of truth, justice, and the American way that you’re _SUPPOSED_ to be...all that was sacrificed, all the blood that was paid, _ALL_ that was given up to save **SOMETHING** like the world that once was, and **_YOU RAN AWAY_**!”

Thud

Kang glared down at the super soldier whose breathing rasped and gasped, not from the exhaustion of his fighting but from Kang’s words, as there as too much he could no longer ignore, too much as his eyes had been forced open and look back on…but the spirit which had kept him going for so long remained strong and true. Bruised and worn, but resilient and willful.

 Staring defiantly at the violet and emerald armored foe, Steve finally verbally countered back,

“...They could handle themselves, it was time to move on, and the world needed new heroes, not old relics like me. I needed to start living my life, not fighting the same battles over and over again…I earned my…”

The sudden blow of Kang’s armored palm slapping his face was a ringing alarm of pain and shock as Steve, still kneeling, found his vision blurred and seeing starts as his mouth suddenly tasted the metallic tang of blood as a few of his teeth were cracked, loosened as Kang roared.

“YOU. **HAVE**. _EARNED_. **_NOTHING_**! You deserve _NOTHING_ for what you’ve done!”

The second slap came before Steve could muster his senses, further knocking him as each blow came with an accusing title.

“TRAITOR!”

More blood began to leak into Steve’s mouth as he’d try to keep steady, but each slap seemed intensify with strength as now it was Kang turn to attack.

“COWARD!”

Steve’s vision began to dim as he could feel his right eye began to close shut as severe bruising was already forming as it seems that whatever Kang was, he was outmatching a super soldier’s regenerative capabilities by power alone. Steve only had a partially conscious awareness of his hands hitting the ground to brace himself up but it did not matter as he felt Kang’s hands suddenly grip the front of his Q.R.T suit and yanked him up to eye level as the time traveled hissed

“LIAR.”

Some random neuron in Steve’s mind seemed to spark as that final accusation seemed to connect…and Steve’s good eye would widen as his bloodied mouth bubbled.

“T-Tony?”

That was the wrong question to ask.

Kang’s masked features, contorted in absolute rage, froze…and intensified in the coldest look of contempt as Steve was flung to the ground. The shattered rib made itself know oh so quite painfully as Steve let out a wheezing gasp as he’d choke on his own blood, spitting as much as he could, less he be unable to breath as the crunching steps of Kang’s boots came upon him.

“They Were **_NOT_** Ready.”

Kang stood over him, breathing hard, clearly biting back the emotions that warred within them.

“…When you let them behind, the world was in turmoil. The gambit you and _YOUR_ Avengers played was achieved as you hoped…but not as intended. You took a world in mourning, and gave them back what they lost, but in no consideration of what that could mean. The world had passed the returning masses by…sound familiar? Strangers in a strange world, familiar on the surface, but not as they knew it, neither were the faces of loved ones, similar but not the same…”

Steve couldn’t make a rebuttal if he wanted to as his body was wracked with his growing list of injuries, something he never experienced before, not for a long time, in a life before super soldiers and world wars...but Kang’s words seemed to stab Steve’s very soul deeper than anything to the body as the world he’d left in his wake was described to him...

“You understand now, don’t you? You can see why the world you abandoned oh so quickly would _NEED_ you. You were one who could fully grasp, to have experienced such a sudden life style change, and helped in bringing them together with the ones who were left behind in the wake of their disappearance. But no, you fled instead. Without guidance, without a leader who understood them and knew how to help them find closure and start anew, they grew restless and tried to pull everyone else back to how life was before; ignoring the cries of those who stayed and rebuilt, to undo all that had been achieved. A world which had been in mourning at the losses brought upon by a war soon found it embroiled in yet another one, a world war which no one had seen the likes of. Because it was not countries, not beliefs, it was not some common cause; it was the past versus the future, and because neither could agree, neither could co-exist. The Avengers rose to meet this conflict and fought valiantly…but the seeds of dissent and discord were sown well within them…and those who once fought side by side, opposed one another as the whole world refused to stay united as one, preferring to fall divided...I imagine _THIS_ sounds familiar too…A Civil War…”

No… _no_ , not again. Steve’s eyes were squeezed shut, head wearily shaking as he didn’t wish to listen to this. All they had done in their pursuit of Thanos and the Infinity Stones…and it was all for nothing? The world and its people, its protectors…disassembled once more? This couldn’t be…

“And with this new Civil War, the enemies of Earth, whether they came from within or from the stars, took advantage of Earth’s weakness. For it was not just the returned and the abandoned who sparked off the war, but a Secret Invasion, monsters who wore the faces of friend and ally, struck many when they were most vulnerable, further weakening Earth’s remaining defenses. You think the world was a dark and desolate place thanks to Thanos’s goals? You know _NOTHING_ of the world I had to grow up in. One in which _I_. **Lost**. **_EVERYTHING_**!”

Steve saw the kick coming, but did nothing to stop it as a boot collided with his middle, an ever sharper twnge of pain as yet another rib shattered, blood splashing onto the ground as he’d sputter wetly, chin caked in drying and staining red as he’d fall onto his back. His mind was lost in the devastating description as it seems the horrors he thought were behind him had just waited for their opportunity to strike again. An invasion from within? Was it Hydra again? What hadn’t he seen, hadn’t expected with his plans? And with all these questions, Kang pressed on, baleful eyes never tearing away from the fallen hero.

“My family, bless them, did whatever they could to help, being the good people they were deep down. They were _true_ heroes, never abandoning the cause or ignoring a cry for help…unfortunately, it was their downfall. I lost a brother; a technological wunderkind the world hadn’t seen in sometime, to a threat should never have been, if not for you. I lost another brother, an idealistic young man who bore the entire worlds responsibilities on his very shoulders until it broke him, mind and body, because You Weren’t There. My mother, watching one by one as our whole family was taken from her by a cruel uncaring universe, couldn’t go on by the end, when it was just me and her…I held her in my arms as she tried to get back up, to keep fighting…but a mortal can only take so much heartbreak before it can’t go on… **AND IT IS ALL _YOUR_ FAULT**!”

For the first time in their encounter, Steve could not deny the pure and raw emotion that was roiling inside Kang, as the accusations struck true, Steve could not find it in himself to deny because, even through the electronic reverberation of Kang’s mask, there was no denying the amount of pain and suffering that ached from the time traveler…such suffering that brought the Super Soldier to tears as his eyes stung and vision blurred as he’d wheeze out, coughing wetly as fresh blood gleamed down the corners of his mouth.

“I-I’m Sor-“

“You don’t get to be sorry” hissed Kang, hands clenched in tight fists as he’d look down upon the defeated Avenger.

“In the end, I was alone. All whom I called friend, all who were my family, all that I had loved, was gone, taken from me. From there, I had nothing left to lose…and so much to avenge for. It took time, but soon, time became something I had more than enough to work with. My life as I had known it was over before then, and so, I shed all that had made me who I was before, abandoning the weaknesses such a continued charade of an identity would shackle me with. The sacrifice of my past life was what I had to pay to become Kang. Everything has a price that _all_ must pay. Which is something you never really quite grasped, did you? Like how you made your choice to come back here, and let countless others pay for it. But then, that’s _your_ mark on history, isn’t it? You are the price that _others_ have to pay… **No**. **Longer**.”

Steve took in a pained, raspy breath as he closed his eyes, knowing what was to come next, accepting his oncoming death like a judged man awaiting his hanging…but no, what came was a sudden and intense of light and color which danced even through his closed lids. Steve would slowly open his eyes…and the cold pit of dread in his stomach plummeted to bottomless depths.

For Kang stood before the resigned super soldier, smiling proudly as one hand was held high…as six unmistakable Infinity Stones shimmered upon the gauntleted hand.

“Im… _Impossible_ …”

“Kang is as Kang does. And Kang does the impossible. I took a world that had given into chaos and ignorance, and sculpted it into the basis of an empire of order and knowledge, reaching to the very ends of the universe. I was the one who saved Earth, I was the one who slain its enemies, I was the one who AVENGED IT! Time itself is now my domain, and with its power, I can undo the mistakes of the past, the present and the future…including collecting the stones you ‘no longer needed’…”

“But, the time stream…without the stones in their proper periods, it will splinter and…”

“Oh spare me your hypocrisy, as you were about to tamper with time yourself with your decision today…I know _exactly_ what will happen. The current time stream will split into new timelines, branching from the mainline. Time can’t be destroyed so easily, it can only change. You and _Your_ Avengers already caused a split in the timeline by going back in the first place…You would’ve split it again if I allowed your ‘ _just reward’_ to occur…and yet, here we are, still standing… _well_ , **I** am…”

“What’ve you done to…?”

“Ah yes, how did I get the stones? Well, the Power Stone was easy, as Quill had yet to awaken yet, and once you left, I plucked it from its protective case and left. That timeline was already in place, created by the annihilation of Thanos and his forces of 2014 when they were stranded in 2023. My intervention actually improved the timeline by keeping the Stone from Ronan’s hands. So yet another timeline’s resident occupants have the likes of Kang as its savior. The Reality Stone was a touch more difficult, but its removal was painless and I left Jane Foster unscathed and out of harm’s way. Malekith never had a chance to move his plans forward beyond Svartalheim. The Time Stone, proved the most bothersome, and even though took a good deal of the power within my own reach; I succeeded in collecting what I required. Without the stone, The Ancient One had to compensate with further escalation of training, recruitment and innovation, seeing now that time was not as immutable as lead to believe. Neither Dormmamu or any of his puppets succeed in conquering the Earth Dimension, although at much higher cost...an acceptable outcome…”

“After that, it was quite easy. No one saw me take the Space Stone from its containment in the 1970s, nor did the ‘protector’ stop me from taking the Soul Stone, as it had already ‘ _bought’_ and paid for. And as for the Mind Stone, well…no one’s going to cry over those Hydra agents…and now, their power is mine…everything and anything is possible now. No longer will there be any boundaries to which could limit me, to hold me back. To deny what belongs to me!”

Kang was now drifting deep, looking up the Stone laden gauntlet with eyes full of awe and possibility, the words spoken was more to himself than to his audience…who brought themselves back to attention as a hand weakly grabbed upon Kang’s ankle, as Kang looked from his treasured possession, and down cooly at the injured Avenger.

“ _Please_ …don’t do this…what you plan to do…it’s not…it’s _not_ worth it…I’m sorry for what I’ve done to your timeline, it was not my intent, but _please_ … ** _reconsider_** …it’s…it’s still not too…late…”

Whatever Steve was going to say next, was denied to him as Kang reached down with their other hand and grasped tightly around his throat, lifting Steve bodily up from the ground, his booted feet dangling  as Kang held him aloft, looking at the bruised and beaten soldier closely…before slowly speaking, as if talking to a particular slow individual.

“And what, _pray_ , could you possibly do or say to convince me, after all I’ve worked for, fought for, KILLED for, to turn back down a path I am so close to achieving my ultimate goal? Tell me, Steve Rogers. **_TELL ME_** _CAPTAIN AMERICA_!”

“Send _me_ back, there’s still time, I can keep your future from ever happening, I can save your family, I can still save…” The Captain halted as the fingers clenched tighter as a denying snarl expressed its disapproval

“ **No** , you _can’t_. I realized long ago, when I made my first steps as a time traveler, that you were _NOT_ the one needed to save the world. _You_ , who was so obsessed with your own past, could never truly move on, and look to the future, to look beyond your own selfish wants and needs, to put the many above yourself. No, _no_ second chances for **you** …I know what needs to be done…”

“ ** _Please_**!” gasped Steve as he’d try to pry Kang’s hand from his throat, breath already labored from his internal injuries and the constricting grip upon his throat which was proving iron-clad even as his own hands tried to pry them away.

“I will…do… _anything_ … **anything** you want…just return the Stones to their proper times…just do this, and I will do **_anything_** to make this right...!”

Kang just glared the legendary super soldier beg and wheeze at him, the eyes piercing Steve was calculating and bitterly cold…but for once, the reply he received sparked the faintest of hopes.

“Anything… _Anything_ at all?”

“ _Yes_! Name it and it’s **yours**!”

Kang seemed to stare for a moment longer, and for that infinitesimal moment of hope, Steve thought he finally broke through to the time traveler, to lower their guard…and it would seem he had, as it was not the only thing to fall, as if by thought alone, Kang’s mask began to slide away, the crowning cowl pulling back to reveal…long flowing dark auburn hair, as a pair of bright and scarily intelligent blue eyes pierced through Steve’s very heart and soul…as furious tears ran down the cheeks of a young woman whose rage as well as facial features struck upon a hard and horrible truth of this nightmare of a timeline he had unknowingly created…the very last one Steve would ever learn of…

“I want my father back, you son of a _bitch_ ” whispered Morgan Stark

**_*CRACK!*_ **

Captain America…was no more, as one final squeeze twist of the wrist snapped Steve Roger’s neck as if it were nothing, while his now limp body fell to the ground in a boneless heap, as Morgan took deep breath, collecting herself as the deed was done.

There was _no_ going back from this point on.

The Stones were now hers and now, here she stood, The Last Avenger.

It was time to make things _right_.

 She looked down at the cooling body before her, and raised the killing hand, palm open as a blast of intense light shot forth and struck true, leaving nothing but a black smoking crater where the super soldier’s corpse had been. There was no leaving anything significant behind in this point of time, because even a dead Captain America could mean problems if the body fell into anyone’s hands. A deep rumble of distant thunder as clouds began to gather, the warm sun slowly lost amongst the gathering masses as a cold autumn wind began to blow, and the promise of rain was soon coming, likely to put out the small fire and wash away the evidence. Nature once more proves, it will heal…with time.

Nodding to this line of thought, Morgan glanced upon the Stones, which glimmered so brightly even with the lack of direct sunlight, brimming with power and promise. She clenched her fingers tight, forming a great and terrible fist as her mask slowly slid back into place…as once more Kang stood at the ready. She knew what had to be done next, and it could cost her likely everything. Despite the assurances she’d been willing to share with Steve, the level of alteration she was considering was a good deal further beyond the scope of any paradox she had witnessed or participated in. She could theoretically destroy everything

The Earth, Her Timeline, Her Very Existence.

Was it worth the sacrifice?

She thought back to her tragedy-laden history and thought of what ifs and what could’ve been. She’d seen enough of the pasts, the presents, and the futures. Tony Stark’s absence in a universe that desperately needed him was too great a loss…and a little girl had to grow up without the father she loved so much. Her father knew the necessity of sacrifice for the greater good…and though deep down, she knew, she always did, that he would _never_ approve of her decisions, her actions, her motives, everything she’d done up to this point…but if there was a chance there could be a timeline where Tony Stark got to see his little girl grow up in a peaceful world of his design…

Yes, it was worth _everything_ and **more**.

“Ravonna, are the exact chronological coordinates ready?” Kang asked as she moved away from the smoldering crater, walking with renewed purpose. Her suit’s A.I. was at the ready.

“ _Yes, Lord Kang, measured right down to the plank length. You should arrive just after Tony Stark succeeds in using the Gauntlet, where the briefest of windows will allow for your use of the Stones…_ ”

“Excellent, Ravonna. Prepare and ready those designated coordinates, for we’ve reached the end game…”

“ _Of course, Lord Kang…but, there still remains a high probability of immense destabilization of time, with two sets of Stones co-existing, much less being used at about the same time…it could cause the complete collapse of reality itself, not just of this timeline but theoretically, **all** of them…_”

The A.I., of course, re-raised her own concerns. Ravonna was one of Kang’s greatest creations after all, and her closest companion. Her knowledge over all things time matched Kang’s but it was her sentience with her sense of concern and morality which made her one of Kang’s most trusted advisors and confidants…being the only one also helps as well. Yet, she had not spoken up during the whole encounter with Steve Rogers, providing only the basic of biometric readings, to see how the Captain would react when faced with the consequences of his rash and self-serving decision. He will always be a coward to Kang, but his final words and attempts at rectifying the mistake…at least made him an honest one at that.

And yet, so far, despite the lingering concerns shared with her A.I, the gambles Kang had played to reach this far had such dire odds…perhaps it was that hardwired nature of the Stark family line that took it as a challenge as opposed to a warning. A smirk curled upon the lips of the masked time traveler, clutching her own specialized gauntlet with conviction.

With a grand gesture of her other hand, a portal in time and space opened before her, opening to a horrifying war torn landscape, which had grown suddenly quiet as the battle which raged prior had suddenly ceased…

“Kang Has Come…”

Stepping through the portal which closed behind her, Kang watched as the forces of Thanos began to collapse and flitter away into dust, blown away by a careless wind, as Earth’s mightiest heroes were suddenly focused on a single figure, the greatest hero of them all, slowly collapsing under the weight of the great power which has now left its fatal mark upon him.

“Kang Has Seen…”

With a knowing smile, and vision beginning to blur as tears began to run anew as she watched the dying hero’s brother in arms, Uncle Rhodey, reach him first. Then a smaller figure, her brother Peter, become overwhelmed by guilt and desperation as his father in all but name drift away, and finally another young woman in a suit of armor, her mother Pepper, kneel down and comfort her father in those final moments…

Now, it had to be _NOW_. Raising the Gauntlet, which felt suddenly so unbearably heavy but nevertheless, she raised it…

“Kang…Has Conquered.”

**_*SNAP*_ **


End file.
